1. Body Planes, Directions, & Cavities
Principles of Health Science

2. Body Cavities Why do we have body cavities?
Body Cavities are openings within the torso which contain organs.
They protect delicate organs from accidental shocks and bumps, and permit the expansion and contraction of organs without disrupting the activities of other organs.

3. Body Planes
Imaginary lines drawn through the body to separate the body into sections
Transverse
Sagittal
Frontal or coronal

4. Transverse plane
Horizontal plane that divides the body into a top & bottom half

5. Sagittal plane Divides the body into left and right sides
Midsagittal divides the body into equal left and right sides

6. Frontal (or coronal) plane
Divides the body into a front and back section

7. Directions Superior vs inferior Cranial vs caudal Medial vs lateral
Anterior vs posterior
Dorsal vs ventral
Proximal vs distal

8. Superior vs inferior Superior: towards the top
Inferior: towards the bottom

9. Cranial vs caudal Cranial: towards the head Caudal: towards the tail
More commonly used in animals
People: same as superior/inferior

10. Medial vs lateral Medial: close or towards the midline
Lateral: away from the midline

11. Anterior vs posterior Anterior: towards the front of the body
Posterior: towards the back of the body

12. Dorsal vs ventral Dorsal: towards the back
Ventral: towards the abdomen
Use more commonly in animals
People: same as anterior/posterior

13. Proximal vs distal Proximal: towards the trunk
Distal: away from the trunk

14. Body Cavities Dorsal cavity Ventral cavity Orbital cavity (eyes)
Cranial cavity
Spinal cavity
Ventral cavity
Thoracic cavity
Abdominopelvic cavity
Abdominal cavity
Pelvic cavity
Orbital cavity (eyes)
Nasal cavity (nose)
Buccal cavity (mouth)

15. Dorsal cavity Cranial cavity: contains the brain
Spinal cavity: contains the spinal cord

16. Ventral cavity
Thoracic cavity: contains esophagus, heart, lungs, trachea
Abdominopelvic cavity
Abdominal cavity: stomach, small intestine, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen
Pelvic cavity: urinary bladder, reproductive organ
Diaphragm: muscle that separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominopelvic

17. The portion of ventral cavity superior to the diaphragm.
a. Pleural Cavities - the spaces surrounding each lung.
b. Mediastinum - a broad middle tissue mass of the thoracic cavity dividing the lungs into two cavities.

18. Thoracic Cavity
It includes the aorta, other great blood vessels, esophagus, trachea, thymus, pericardial cavity, and heart.
c. Pericardial Cavity - space in which the heart is located

19. Abdominal Cavity
Abdominal Cavity - The superior portion of the abdominopelvic cavity. It extends from the diaphragm to the superior margin of the pelvic girdle.
Contains the organs known as the viscera which include the stomach, spleen, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, small intestine, and most of the large intestine.

20. Pelvic Cavity Surrounded by the pelvic bones.
The pelvic cavity contains the urinary bladder, cecum, appendix, sigmoid colon, rectum, and the male or female internal reproductive organs

21. Abdominal quadrants Four quadrants with the umbilicus at the center
RUQ LUQ RLQ LLQ

22. Abdominal regions

23. Image Citations
Slide 3: 8/27/06,
Slide 4: Sagittal plane, 8/27/06,
Slide 5: Frontal plane, 8/27/06,
Slide 7 & 9 &12: Directional terms, 8/27/06,
Slide 8: Anatomical terms, planes, 8/27/06,

24. Image Citations
Slide 11: photo of a dog illustrating dorsal, ventral, anterior and posterior, 8/27/06,
Slide 14: Body cavities, 8/31/06,
Slide 16, 17: Delmar Learning’s Medical Terminology Image Library, Second Edition, Version 1.0, 2003.